Torn Apart
by Caulerpa
Summary: so the two part while they both don't want so in heart. what will happen? what can happen? a fanfiction of what i want to happen after Burned. new chapters will be coming up. rated T just in case. please read&review, thank you.
1. Chapter 1

_Rephaim_

"I'll miss you," she whispered and turned back, walking away from him. He felt her words more than he heard them and watched her leave with an aching pain in his chest. A hidden whisper escaped his mouth before he could stop it: _I'll miss you too... _

It was true as much as he didn't want it to be. His wings stretched out and beat the air strongly as he made himself take off, flying to east, towards his father. Returning would be easier if he had never seen this world that Stevie Rae had introduced to him. He was a beast, a creature born of hatred, rape and Darkness. He would never belong with Light or anything close to that. But she was the light itself. And she had belonged to him for a short while, enlightening his life. He had accepted her knowing that they could never be together, that they weren't supposed to be.

_But I felt what it feels to be human._

Yeah, he sure had and he remembered the feeling of it; even though he tried to bury it deep inside, the remnants of that time still gleamed within. It felt happy. Beyond everything he had ever experienced. It satisfied his soul to the core, leaving nothing untouched. The sweet feeling of her small hand in his own and the radiating warmth of her body next to his... he could live only with that feeling for an eternity. And no matter how much he tried to eradicate the thought, he still knew that it could be different if he wasn't a beast that had no other reason to exist but killing and destruction... if he was a simple normal man.

_I could be one._

Rephaim almost laughed at the idiocy of the thought - almost. How could he even think about turning into a human? Wasn't he a beast and a beast only? He could feel the cold night air under his wings, sweeping over his beak, flowing around his feathered body. He could almost feel his eyes blazing the unnatural scarlet.

_I have been one. For only a few seconds; but I know I have been one._

His fingers still remembered what he kept denying: the feeling of soft human skin, the texture of soft lips instead of a beak. When they were in front of that fountain, he had undoubtedly felt the human face – his human face – under his hands. But again, did it matter? His father was back; Kalona was back, and so was Rephaim's monstrous features. Just like the heavy feeling of Darkness burning inside him had came back. What he had experienced at that one moment was just a reflection of his heart; just a dream, seen and disappeared as fast as it came. What he was – what he had to be – was still the same wild beast he had always been.

_ Maybe it's not like that. _

No, it was exactly like that. It had to be like that. He flapped his wings harder, faster in the night sky. Even though dawn was closing on him, Darkness was denser than before. The proof he was getting closer to Kalona. Since the Imprint, he couldn't feel his father as clearly anymore; he wasn't sure if he wanted to either. But he was sure he was supposed to want it. He let out the frustration of his confused thoughts from his wings; flapping them to their limits, so much so that his wing muscles started softly burning.

_She didn't stop me from going away._

Because it has to be like that, he thought. He had already admitted his heart to himself not too long ago; but it didn't change his past. He had killed, murdered thousands of humans ferociously. He had killed vampyres also; the vampyres that were Stevie Rae's allies. Even though she had accepted him, anyone other than her would never accept him, they'd believe him to be a sworn enemy. And they would be dead right.

_No, they would be dead wrong. _

Ridiculous. Of course Rephaim was an enemy to them. He would not hesitate to slaughter the whole world if his father ordered him so.

_All of the world?_

Yes, all of it. as long as Kalona wished for it.

_I'm decieving myself._

Rephaim sighed. He sure did lie to himself and he wasn't good at it. He knew what it was that he truly desired. He knew that just murder would be no longer enough for him, it was not what he seeked. Ever since Stevie Rae had shown him that world so full of love and compassion, he had never wanted to go back to the joyless, dark and hatred-filled world of his father. He didn't want to lose _her_ to anyone. He didn't want their Imprint broken. He had even decided that he didn't want to live in a world without her. That was what his heart kept screaming though it was muffled. But his heart had never mattered.

_It does matter to her. She said my heart actually _does_ matter to her. _

Rephaim felt a burning ache in his whole body. She was all he needed to live on. He was getting farther and farther away from what his soul desperately seeked, from his salvation. What if he turned back and flew back to Tulsa? What if he rejected his father?

"No!" Rephaim shouted out to the sky. He could never do that! He tried to shake away the turbulent feelings he couldn't control and accepted Darkness in once again as it became denser and denser around him like a sticky shell; making sure it didn't drive him insane again. He would eventually have to do this if he was going back. He had never belonged with her, so he wasn't supposed to be with her anyways; so this would be it for them. This had to be it for them. He was bound to live under the wings of Darkness and serve his father; he existed for no more.

_What about the Imprint?_

He still couldn't bring himself to break it. A single, slight ray of hope was holding onto this last one bond he had with Light. The man in him still wouldn't be able to bear breaking this last bond.

_I will have to face her..._

Probably in another war, Rephaim thought. They would be enemies on the battlefield. They would have to fight each other. Stevie Rae would use her element to defend herself and attack him – the element that he had become so familiar with lately. And him? He would use Darkness, his wild instincts, claws and beak. As he had always done before he met her.

_Would I be able to bring myself to kill her when it comes to that? _

Both the man and the beast within him sighed softly. The answer was obvious.

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A/N: I really love Rephaim and his ways of thinking, it's so fun to trace. He's always so confused with his feelings; torn between his heart and his father. I seriously want him to see he needn't be that confused though. So yeah, I don't intend to make this into a very long fanfiction; but I thought this process is needed before lovers get together for it annoys me how easy it would be if Rephaim just changed. He's not the oh, so strong beastly fellow he seems to be; he's emotional and weak at heart, needs support and time to see things. Whatever. People have been saying that these two will never get together and Rephaim will die(literally) for Stevie Rae in the next book; so I thought if they can't get together in that book, I can make an end for them that they can be together. Hope you like this too and hope I don't go all OOC and annoying. And I'll probably end up pretty slow on this one too; I have zillions of things waiting to be done. Review please, thank you!


	2. Chapter 2

_Stevie Rae_

Walking down all the road turned out to be not-so-nice. Not having a car under proved to be really inconvenient. Stevie Rae tried to use the opportunity to clear her mind. Lots and lots of things were whirling in her mind like a dang hurricane. She could categorize it maybe; but it would take too much time and enerygy since there were zillions of things she couldn't decide if they were good or bad exactly. First and the best of all: Zoey was back. She wasn't dying so easily; just like Stevie Rae had always believed. _Y'all see? I told ya; I knew she wouldn't die just like that, you old witches!_ Stevie Rae screamed in her mind, not knowing exactly who she was yelling at. But again, this come-back also meant more lies, more secrets from her BFF which she didn't like, not even the slightest.

Oh, thinking about lies, there was also this Dallas thingie she had to deal with. The last time she had checked he was still safely away from people in House of Night; but she had no idea about the situation right now. She hadn't bothered to make a call and she didn't want to make that call when she felt like her brain could explode just anytime and when dawn was closing on her. She had already warned Kramisha about Dallas going insane, she sure wasn't going to believe him if he ever showed up. And Stevie Rae could always explain it saying Dallas was saying things about a Raven Mocker and she got worried and how it didn't make any sense and the story so on. Ever since Rephaim showed up she had really got better at lying anyways... almost as good as an expert. Even though she had no confidence if she could lie that well to Zoey's face.

So yeah, there was also Rephaim. The biggest and the most bugging of her problems. The biggest pain in the butt she'd miss the most. She frowned unconsciously while thinking about him. Why did he have to be such a big idiot? It would be so much easier if he just saw the truth of it. Nyx had always accepted any kind of fellow as long as they chose light. If he just chose the light over the darkness, Nyx definitely would accept him too. Maybe she would even turn him into the boy Stevie Rae had seen in the reflection: the human inside of Rephaim.

_But, wow, who would have thought he'd turn out to be such a hottie?_

Stevie Rae shook her head. It was so not the right time to be thinking about that. She was getting pretty close to the school and she had much more important issues than how beautiful and silky Rephaim's human hair had looked. But now that she thought about it; Rephaim had said "human skin is so soft" back then in front of the fountain. And he was touching his own face when he had said that. Stevie Rae had never dared look away from the reflection at those moments; but if he had felt that human skin... maybe it wasn't just the reflection? Maybe Nyx had breathed not just on the water but on Rephaim also? Maybe he had actually changed into the pretty human boy his reflection had changed into.

She sighed. Just thinking about this had kinda raised her mood from the sticky sick sadness to just simple tickly sadness; but she also remembered how that blazing scarlet had just returned to his awfully human eyes... those awfully sad eyes that looked so drowned in despair. Her mood fell back down to some sick sadness, recalling those eyes he had when she left. _Then why would he let it go just like that?_ If he was so sad to leave her, he didn't need to leave. But well, she could also understand what he felt. She just hoped that he would understand what mattered and what didn't soon enough.

_But, hell, you saved him lots of times already, haven't you? You've cared for him, you've believed in him. You took the risk of being discovered with a monster, You took the risk of being misunderstood, hated. You lied to your friends for him! You risked your diginity and even claimed him as yours and declared yourself as his! Heck, you even loved him, in every way that is possible! How could he just let it go like that?_

Stevie Rae shuddered at the inner babble, surely affected by Darkness for she'd never cuss like that even when she was too angry to be rational. Those thoughts seemed to be hers and if she was more distracted she could even believe them to be hers which was kinda sorta scary; but not now. But thinking about it; she was as close to Light now as she was two seconds ago. What could have changed for Darkness to be able to reach her so freely now, enough to touch her thoughts?

"Rephaim..." she muttered under her breath. It had to be the Imprint. So he had gotten closer to the darkness again. Stevie Rae felt the soft touches of the sickly despair in her heart. She really hoped he wouldn't choose the Darkness over her. She wasn't sure if she could handle it so well with how much she was attached... how much she was bound to him. Even the thought of him being away from him and close to the darkness made her want to weep silently.

She shook her head strongly and tried to beat the issues of Rephaim out of her mind(though it was a pretty hard job). She had things to do. And all of those things were, well, stressful and energy-draining things. She had things to put straight. And she'd have to give an explanation to Kramisha about what happened in detail too. Wait, had she told her about being with "the other guy" again? If she hadn't, she wouldn't want to tell her about that by mistake; Kramisha would bother her to depths of abyss until she got all the details. She sighed, lying was such a hard job. And the more she lied, the harder it was becoming. She was already starting to consider opening up to Zoey... if they ever got to be roommates again like in the old days, that is.

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A/N: Thanks a bunch, my very few reviewers! It's nice to know that people actually read my stuff... and like it. My internet connection has kind of gone insane right now so I mostly can't do all the things I want; but lucky I can put things up if I wait long enough. I wanted to put up this next chapter. I really have no idea on how to continue from here, actually. I mean, all I wanted to do was to make a fiction about RephaimxStevie Rae romance; but it's going all book-like. Have any ideas? I'd appreciate some help on this one. I'll probably have to write the next chapter from either Zoey's or Kalona's point of view... or maybe Rephaim's again, but that doesn't sound too rational to me. Then again, I'll probably have enough time to think about this for I can't write too often too much. I have zillions of bone and muscle names to memorize, it can be slow, I apologize for that from the start. Review please, thank y'all!


	3. Chapter 3

_**Kalona**_

He first felt the darkness chains around him. His oath was left incomplete, Zoey Redbird was back as a whole in her body. But he was now _entrapped_ in the sticky chains of darkness and enslaved by Neferet. It could drive him mad: fallen from Nyx and now fallen from the powerful immortal status; he was just a slave of the Tsi Sgili woman.

The second thing he felt was the presence of her. Just as much as he hated it, he could always feel her somehow; ever since he was released from earth by her. Of course she had powered up even more since that time, strenghtening the bond they had in the process.

"I see you have come back, love." He heard her cold voice, "But our oath is not fulfilled. You have failed to keep Zoey dead."

Kalona noticed that even though he was back in his body, he couldn't actually control it. It felt like he was just in a shell. Of course; he had failed his part the oath so now Neferet would always be able to keep control over him through this oath.

"Now that you are back this way, it means you're still oath-bound until Zoey is dead." Neferet continued her one-sided conversation, "I allowed you back in your body for a short time because leaving your immortal body as it was would be such a waste; it wouldn't have any profits, would it? I want my answers. There's just one thing I wonder though. How could you fail in keeping a shattered soul in peaces for just one week? Zoey has a really annoying habit of staying alive; but it shouldn't have been that hard to keep her that way for a little while. Am I wrong, love?"

Kalona realized that he still couldn't find the strength to actually answer her. Neferet had not taken him to the rooftop, instead he was underground. With the dark chains around him sealing his soul, it became almost impossible for him to speak in the weak state he was. Well, Zoey Redbird's life wasn't worth him being dominated by Neferet. Even if she was his A-ya. Not even if she was the closest he could get to Nyx.

"Answer me Kalona." Neferet commanded. He had to obey her no matter what, he could never disobey while he was Oath Bound by evil.

"It would be, if she was alone or was with the human consort she lost. Her warrior came to her and protected her, persuaded the human boy to leave the other world to his new life and after that he managed to make her whole again. I could have kept her there, I could have killed her again like I killed her warrior. But Nyx appeared."

"Nyx appeared?" Neferet repeated with an icy cold voice and stare. Her cruel beauty was enhanced by shock.

"Yes, just like I expected and you refused to accept the possibility of. She protects her high priestess well. She probably would not let anything happen to Zoey in her realm, as long as her soul is whole." Kalona breathed, his soul bleeding and weak but he still talked with the power of the oath and some power borrowed from Darkness. "Nyx also declared that my soul, as well as my body, is banned from her realm."

"You don't need her realm, love." Neferet purred, "We will rule this realm together. You said that you killed Zoey's warrior, her soul must still not be so stable. You might still have the chance to kill her and complete your oath."

"I had to return the warrior back to life. It was a life debt I owed Zoey Redbird, she claimed it. Nyx made sure she claimed it." Kalona breathed more weakly.

"So you say that Zoey has her soul back all full and is perfectly alive now." Neferet sighed with annoyance, then she continued with a very silky and dangerous voice, "This habit of hers is really annoying. I want her out of my way and I want it very soon. For that, though, I'll first have to let you heal yourself, love; you can't be of any use the state you are in now."

Kalona stayed silent, looking at Neferet's icy cold smile. He was at her mercy and he hated that; but he would appreciate being taken to somewhere that he could heal himself.

"Rest, my love. I have lots of plans for you..." Neferet breathed in Kalona's ear. Kalona slowly closed his eyes and let his body relax, giving in to the fatigue and the wounds. He felt Neferet's smooth lips on his own before she whispered again: "...and you sure won't fail me this time."

Kalona felt her presence disappear from the room after that and heard a few footsteps coming towards him before he gave in to unconsciousness.

_**Rephaim**_

He quickly flew around the castle, trying to feel his father. He was definitely sure that Kalona had come back; he just still couldn't feel his exact location. He remembered what Stevie... the Red One told him when he was still wounded. Neferet had his father oath-bound by dark chains; but since his soul was back, he had to be alive. And after being wounded by this Zoey girl Kalona would have to reach the sky to heal his body so he probably would be at somewhere high and open.

Rephaim changed his direction and started flying towards the rooftop. He definitely knew that Kalona was in the castle, the castle in the Capri. He just didn't where exactly which should be easy to find out. But it wasn't. He flew a while around the rooftop; but it was empty. Maybe he has already healed, Rephaim thought at first; but he had a feeling that wasn't the case. He flew lower and started circling around the castle to see if Kalona was out. It was then that he saw them.

Neferet was walking in the front with a few men in dark robes who were carrying Kalona's body behind her. Kalona looked almost half-dead, even paler than normal and he was still bound by the chains made of darkness.

Rephaim wanted to fly to him immediately; but stopped himself and hid behind a corner. He didn't want to deal with Neferet when his father was like this. Moreover, it wouldn't do him any good to be trapped by Neferet. He needed to find out what she was planning and what the dark oath was. And how to break it, if possible. If not, how to complete it. Rephaim definitely wanted his father free of this cursed woman and her poisoned web and he would do everything in his power to accomplish that.

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A/N: Oh god, writing this has been SO HARD it almost killed me! i didn't know that writing from Kalona's point of view would be so hard! and Neferet's plans too... the evil side is a part that has always surprised me; i don't know if i can ever get their plans right. but well, i'm trying and y'all know that. still, i'm resting in the next chapter. i'm writing a Zoey or Stevie Rae pov which will be pretty useless for the story. i think i'll have those two have a talk on the phone. i really wanna make them get together; but it doesn't seem to be possible just yet. well, whatever. if you have any suggestions, let me know. i appreciate them a lot.

and, thanks a lot to everyone who has reviewed and gave me ideas on how to continue. it's thanks to those that i have managed to complete the chapter. and getting positive reviews make me feel really nice so thank you. i wanna especially thank belladonna kyle though, for she(or he, i don't really know, just got a feeling she's female) is the only one who responded to my mail and gave me some suggestions and helped me. i really appreciated it a lot.

and i'm sorry for the very late update; but did you know that i have had to murder frogs lately? they make strange yucky sounds when you're cutting their brains off, disgusting. and the lessons getting even harder than before, i barely had the time to think or write. well, i hope you still enjoyed! please review, and take care!


	4. Chapter 4

_**Stevie Rae**_

"I'm telling you, I'm fine! I just wanted to take a walk to clear my head, that's all!" Stevie Rae insisted. Lenobia had been really mad because she just came in without calling her at all. She thought that it would sound normal that she wanted to take a walk; but she had forgotten that they still thought there was a "killer" Raven Mocker around that they had no idea she'd imprinted with.

"Look, I know you're a strong vampyre and a High Priestess; but you still need to be careful with this Raven Mocker around! You know how dangerous these things are, don't you?" Lenobia kept on ranting.

"I do know those fellas are dangerous alright; but they're not even here anymore! I've seen 'em flyin' away tonight; they were in a hurry they didn't even notice me!" Stevie Rae spurted a lie without even thinking, surprising herself. She had no idea she had the ability to lie so smoothly in her.

"That doesn't prove there's none left here!" Lenobia countered. Stevie Rae sighed, she couldn't argue with Lenobia. She decided to give up.

"Alright, you're right and I'm sorry." she gave in, "I was thoughtless, I should have been more cautious. This won't happen again." _Are you happy now?_ She added in her mind.

"I hope it won't" Lenobia said before she let it go. She still seemed to be very angry; but Stevie Rae wouldn't care about it anymore. She just wanted to go to her room and possibly fall asleep. Dawn was very close and she was starting to feel sleepy.

"So, can I go to sleep now? I'm very tired." Stevie Rae practically begged. Lenobia looked very stern and didn't seem like she would allow her to do so. Oh, right! She had to explain about Dallas! "I mean, I know a lot happened and none of you know anything about what happened with Dallas; but it's not really a complex story." she added before Lenobia could say anything.

"So tell me what happened and I will tell it to the others. We can discuss and research on it while the sun is up." Lenobia reasoned with her. No matter how angry she looked, she defintiely knew about the weak-when-sun-is-up stuff and wouldn't push further. Stevie Rae was grateful for that for once.

"Actually, I've almost no idea what happened either." Stevie Rae started explaining the lie, "He just started sayin' some bullpoopie about the same story the evil Red fledglings had; this one about a Raven Mocker. Then he kicked me outta the car. I saw his eyes turn scarlet before that and he actually Changed."

"He Changed?" Lenobia repeated her, her eyes open with shock, "How could that happen so suddenly?"

"I saw Darkness above the evil fledglings before, and I remember seein' it above Dallas when he started to go mad. But then it disappeared and Dallas Changed. I think he might have accepted Darkness and tha's what caused him to change. Exact opposite of me." Stevie Rae said. Well, this one wasn't a lie exactly; the part about Dallas accepting the darkness was true.

"Tha's some serious news ya have there." she heard Kramisha's voice behind Lenobia. She had just appeared by the door. "So we not goin' back to tunnels for a while, you say? It might be danger."

"I was just about to say that. You and Dallas took your time in the tunnels; he must have been affected by Darkness the most." Lenobia told her opinion.

"And it couldn't affect me since I've already clearly chosen Nyx's side and am her High Priestess." Stevie Rae added to her theory. Well, if her lie was the truth, the theory would probably be perfectly true. Not returning to the tunnels for now probably would be better anyways though; there was always the danger. Not too much, but she didn't want to risk her fledglings. She already felt like poo, having seen the some of the others die; she didn't want any of the others to turn back to the darkness again, or Change like Dallas did.

"Ya know, I know this is serious matters but y'also know dawn is very close and I don't have full potential. Can't you lemme go for tonight and we'll talk tomorrow? Pretty please? I feel bad enough already, I might break down in the middle of the meeting if we have a meeting." Stevie Rae said again before anyone of them could say anything more. Lenobia sighed softly.

"I know, you have been through a lot, Stevie Rae. I know you need your time to collect youself. You go have a good rest, I will take care of things this morning." Lenobia smiled at her. Stevie Rae felt absolutely relieved that she was released of the questioning for a while. She smiled back at her.

"Thank you-"

"But!" Lenobia interrupted, "I won't accept something like this again. You're not going outside alone again.

"Yeah, it definitely won't happen again." Stevie Rae nodded.

"And you will stay with Kramisha tonight, just in case. You tend to run off to somewhere when you feel bad and you have made it into a habit. I don't want you out of the school either, so you're staying with her tonight." Lenobia said.

"Fine." Stevie Rae sighed, she might have brought it upon herself; but she still believed she'd rather sleep alone. Then again, better not argue after this point. "I will sleep together with her. Zoey's bed is empty anyways, Kramisha can sleep there. Can't you, Kramisha?" Stevie Rae said the last sentence looking at Kramisha who had been very quiet the whole time.

"Of course! I'll have me some nice sheets there, I sleep quiet like a puppydog." Kramisha smiled as she skipped towards Stevie Rae. Stevie Rae appreciated her efforts to cheer her up. Kramisha threw her hand on Stevie Rae's shoulder and whispered quietly: "And I love me some stories."

Stevie Rae's insides almost froze, she used all her acting to look normal as they walked past Lenobia and passed the door into the hallway.

_She knows! She totally knows! I'm so screwed!_ Her inner voice screamed. She tried to calm hersef down. For sure Kramisha was acting unusually quiet, she had definitely figured something out. How much could she have figured out? Could she have believed the evil fledglings' words? Did she know that this "other guy" was Rephaim? Well, she probably didn't know it just yet or wasn't sure about it; at least she wasn't going mad like Dallas had. That was a good sign.

_What if she has fully figured my secret? She knows the most about Rephaim; actually, she's the only one who knows about the existance of "other boy". She has the highest possibility of discovering it. So what then? Will I kill her to prevent her from talking?_

WTF? What in the world was she thinking? Killing Kramisha? That was so out of question! She despised herself for even thinking about it! That was so not gonna happen! If Kramisha found about it? Then Stevie Rae would just confess the whole truth. The whole of it. Then she would hope that Kramisha wouldn't just go mad like Dallas did, that she would understand at least a little. So if Kramisha happened to hate her after hearing it? She'd think about that when that happened.

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A/N: Hot right after the third chapter that took so long! Oh gosh, it's so easy to write Stevie Rae's POV after the third chapter; it's easy and fun! It didn't take me an hour to write this and considering I type pretty slow it's a short time. Thanks, people, I'm just so happy y'all like it! I was even told that this could as well be the next book, it made my day! anyway. The next chapter will be from Stevie Rae's POV again, I don't wanna give spoilers; but you probably can guess what might happen anyways. Ludmilla asked about Aphrodite's dream, the one in Burned. I personally think it must be out since it was a version of future where Zoey chose to stay and Zoey came back in the end. All it could change is Aphrodite's curiosity. I'm thinking of adding it in very soon. Now all I have problems is about evil's plans. You know, I'm definitely not good with evil's plans and I can't guess it right OR write something creative. If any of you have anything I could write, please tell me one way or another. I want to keep it good and exciting; both for myself and everyone that happens to read it; I want you guys to enjoy it the best. So yeah! Please review; thank y'all!


	5. Chapter 5

_**Stevie Rae**_

"So. You don't expect me to believe you alone last night, right?" Kramisha said, jumping on Zoey's bed and crossing her legs, "You were with this other guy."

Just like Stevie Rae had expected. Well of course Kramisha would guess that much. Stevie Rae wouldn't try to deny it either. She just didn't want her to guess it was Rephaim. The conversation was still in the safe zone.

"Yeah, you got me." Stevie Rae sighed, getting into her bed and making herself comfortable under the quilt. "I didn't wanna be alone after all that happened yesterday so I called 'im and he came."

"That all happ'n'd yesterday? Nothin' more?" Kramisha said, "Cuz I have me more important things to dig into. I can leave that to later."

"Yeah, he was just beside me, that's all." Stevie Rae sighed again with relief. Kramisha didn't want to dig into it, meaning she had nothing she doubted about Other Guy being Rephaim. Still safe.

"But I also don't believe Dallas would go nuts just like... poof!" Kramisha said. Stevie Rae felt his muscles tense under the quilt. Close to the danger zone. Kramisha always had this very good intuition about Stevie Rae's lies. She had always had to say the closest to truth to make Kramisha believe. "I don't buy what you told just now and what you said on phone. I mean, Dallas just not a guy like that! It woudn' be that easy ya know?"

Stevie Rae stayed quiet for a while. She could just end it telling she didn't understand either and she was just as surprised as Kramisha was. Or she could try to explain the situation the best she could without revealing Rephaim. But, well, that could also result in Kramisha thinking it's important matters that should be told to the other adults, or at least to Lenobia. Geez, Lenobia would definitely question her until she got the whole details.

_Lie to her. It's not like I never lie her. I always lie to everyone lately, it's not gonna be any different. It'll make things easier for me if I lie to her. _

That defintiely sounded good, if Kramisha believed the lie. Worth trying. Or isn't it worth trying? Just telling her the most she could tell would also work, now that she thought about it.

"Come on, even the silence proves it a lie. Tell me truth, Stevie Rae. Ain't I your friend?" Kramisha pressed on. Stevie Rae could see she was sincere.

"Okay, you're right. I just didn't wanna tell'em the whole thing." Stevie Rae blurted before she could stop herself. She sighed softly, now that she had started there was no turning back. Maybe it was for the better.

"See I knew it. What happened?" Kramisha said, just to have said something.

"I'm gonna sum up cuz I really do feel tired." Stevie Rae said.

"Fine by me." Kramisha accepted. Stevie Rae took a deep breath and tried to get herself ready for telling the story and for Kramisha's reaction.

"It all happened in the tunnels. Dallas came when I was crying, trying to soothe me. Then he kissed me. And I kissed back, like hard, ya know, it's the first time I felt like 'at. Like I wanted him, I needed him. But then, the other guy came, begged me not to do it cuz it'd break out Imprint. He said that he felt what I felt and that he came runnin' to me. Dallas was, like, pissed. A whole lot. Well he had the right. I felt so bad, real bad. I hated myself."

"Then what?"

"Then he... started shouting around. He said he treated me like a real High Priestess all the time and valued me so much and he loved me so much as just a simple girl even if I wasn't his priestess. And he said I betrayed him after saying I also love him and I was a liar and so on. He tried to zap my... consort, I'll say? I could literally see Darkness surrounding him. And when my consort was being zapped, Dallas said that he could live on forgetting this if I became his and his totally. I ran to save my consort from his electric. Then he declared that he could as well accept Darkness. Darkness got into his body with that and he Changed. The evil way. I made him..." Stevie Rae quieted down when her voice trembled. Kramisha stayed silent too, not knowing what to say.

"Anyway," Stevie Rae continued, "Now he's one adult of the evil fledglings. They'll be more organized than before. And our tunnels are filled with Darkness now, a big big mess. I don't want any of you back down there. I'll make new tunnels here if necessary; but we won't go back."

"Yea, we better not." Kramisha agreed with her, "We still have Aphrodite's Gold Card anyways. And you do your earth stuff make new tunnels, all we need. It'll be perfect."

"Yeah, absolutely." Stevie Rae said and yawned wide. The sun was probably up by now. She felt like she was about to faint. "Let's sleep, please? I'm really really tired."

"Yeah, me too. I want me some good sleep." Kramisha said, getting under her own quilt and making herself comfortable. "Sure you won't run away."

"I can't anyways with the sun up." Stevie Rae breathed, her eyes closed. Kramisha didn't say anything more. She was probably fast asleep. Stevie Rae really adored how she could sleep so soundly after hearing this much. She had just learned that there was another way of Changing for the ones like her, she had just learned that Dallas was gone to the evil side because of Stevie Rae and she was already asleep.

Stevie Rae turned to her side. Her body was overly tired; but her brain was far from shutting down. Lots and lots of things were whirling around. What would she do? Where was Dallas, what was he doing? Was he plotting something bad? What about Zoey, what had she done in the night Stevie Rae had wasted walking down the road? Was Stark doing okay? Stevie Rae had heard that his healing could take months even. Then what about the High Council and the plans of Neferet? Had Kalona raised from the half-dead state?

What about Rephaim? Was he back under his father's wings? God she wanted him back with her. Even though he was gone only for one night she missed him. Knowing he was so far away was a hard thing in itself. The way his humanity had looked was still in front of her eyes. Not having him by her side hurt and it hurt a lot. So this was the price of saving him. The price was definitely nothing as long as he was by her side; but when he was away like this and openly an enemy...

She quietly called her element to herself to soothe and strengthen her so she could at least relax enough to fall asleep. The sweet scent of grass filled her nose. The fatigue of the daytime made it really easy for her to fall asleep when she was relaxed. She concentrated on the scent and the warm feeling Earth gave her as her mind slowly eased and she gave in to the rest of deep sleep.

* * *

A/N: So in the end I decided to keep it a secret from Kramisha. I'm not sure how she would respond. Aphrodite, somehow, seemed like a better choice to me cuz she'll definitely dig into the issue after the vision she had about Rephaim and Stevie Rae. It's been a while since I finished this chapter but my internet is like poopie and I couldn't put this up. Also, I'm sick so I felt kinda lazy to put it up, sorry. Actually, I think this story is starting to get pretty boring. Now that I have this exam coming up I can't really "work" on this one and it's turned into a way to relax for me. I'm putting it on hold until the exam passes. I want this to go on nice. I will keep on after the exam; but even then I can't do this alone. I really appreciate the helps of Belladonna Kyle, she has been such a great person and a really great help always. But it's also true that I want more and more suggestions about what you think that can happen. My writing style might be kinda like the book; but I'm not that good of a story creator actually. I need help if I want to continue and finish a story without getting totally lame. I appreciate all the reviews, even though I don't reply to them y'all gotta know that. Please keep following the story and reviewing, thank y'all!


	6. Chapter 6

_**Stevie Rae**_

The phone ring was awfully loud. Just enough to make Stevie Rae crazy. She pulled the quilt over her head and pressed it to her ears, hoping that it would shut up soon. But it didn't. Big surprise. Stevie Rae soon gave up and reached for her phone, moaning sleepily. She felt like she had been asleep only for a few short hours. She was still dead tired. She had woken up though, this meant it was like twilight or something; but she felt like she could still sleep for days. She hardly had the energy to hit the key and bring the phone to her ear.

"Hello?" Stevie Rae answered her phone the best she could. If she knew what was about to come, though, she would have never answered the phone.

"Oh, hello? One whole day and a half I've been trying to reach you and when I finally do this is the only thing you can say? _Hello_? Seriously, what do you have as "brain" in your damn thick skull? Goddess!"

Aphrodite. Great. Just perfect. Excellent timing.

"Sorry 'bout that; I was gonna call you if only you waited a few more hours." Stevie Rae countered the best she could in the slow-working state her brain was in. She sat up in the bed and massaged her eyes to see if she could actually wake up.

"A few more hours, yeah! Do you know how hectic things are around here? I mean, with Zoey's stuff? And Kalona too, of course. Oh, I almost forgot, there's also Neferet here! Hello, unlike somebody we actually are _busy_ here!" Aphrodite kept on ranting.

"Yeah, like I'm not! I'm dealin'with the works you left here to be done! Oh, and just who was it that evoked the cows to ask for advice?"

"Bulls! And that was, like, days ago if I don't have a major memory loss. Whatever. What happened in the days you've left me out?" Aphrodite sighed, given up on the scolding for the time being.

"Well, lots. I went down to the tunnels to chase off the evil fledglings and actually did so; but Dallas went nuts. He accepted Darkness." Stevie Rae made a quick sum.

"He _what?_" Aphrodite whispered the last word, obviously holding back from shouting the word.

"Yeah. And it Changed him too. Awesome, right?"

"Wait a damn second, country bumpkin! If I understood you correctly, you say that Dallas accepted Darkness without a reason and Changed into a full vampyre. That's what you say?" Aphrodite repeated Stevie Rae's words in a more clear way.

"Yeah, that's exactly it." Stevie Rae confirmed.

"Which means, there's another way to Change for the red fledglings than accepting Light... which is so not good." Aphrodite mused to herself.

"Defintiely not. A few of the evil fledglings were killed before they fled and I believe earth buried a few of them too; but the most of them probably escaped to someplace else. I believe Dallas would have joined them by now." Stevie Rae said, telling Aphrodite everything she had thought up till now. She was mostly awake by now too. She got up from the bed and went to take herself some water. She also felt hungry; but blood could wait.

"You got yourself one hell of a situation there. Evil fledglings will be even more dangerous now that they have one fully changed leader with them. They'll be more organized. You'll have to be prepared. The thing is, I don't believe what you said about Dallas accepting Darkness just like that."

_That makes two of you._ Was it that unbelieveable? Maybe she should change the pattern of the lie, Stevie Rae thought.

"Now tell me the real story behind the scene." Aphrodite completed.

"There's nothin' to tell; he just started sproutin' some nonsense then accepted Darkness. I think it's because Darkness was really dense down there. I decided that I won't be takin' my fledglings back there to live after that." Stevie Rae said, sighing.

"Yeah, sure. I'm so not buying this crap, Stevie Rae. It's irrational. There has to be a reason for Dallas to _accept_ darkness and you know that. Hell, not just Dallas; for anyone to accept darkness in, there has to be a reason." Aphrodite countered.

"I'm telling you, this all I know!" Stevie Rae said, raising her voice a little. She was so not going to tell Aphrodite. Who knew how she would react?

"Okay, I'm postponing this conversation for a time I can freely question you. I have more important matters to talk to you anyways. About this latest vision I got."

_Dangerous zone..._ The latest vision would probably be the one that she and Rephaim had starred in. Aphrodite was totally not going to let it go.

"Latest vision?" Stevie Rae played innocent.

"The one where Zoey chose to stay and the world came to an end." Aphrodite sighed.

"Zoey is back, so it's not gonna happen, right? Does it still matter?" Stevie Rae tried to avoid having to talk about it, still playing innocent.

"Yeah it does, especially because you were all huggly with the most badass Raven Mocker out there. And I have a feeling about it." Aphrodite stated. _Yeah, it's never been easy._ She was in the most dangerous state right now. She had to be extremely careful this time.

"Ya think I'd actually do that?" Stevie Rae said, trying to sound kinda annoyed.

"I don't know if you would; what I know is that I feel like you're hiding things... _bad_ things about some Raven Mocker." Aphrodite replied. Only the wording was different, Stevie Rae noticed.

"So you say I'd actually do that." Stevie Rae stated simply. Well, Aphrodite wasn't wrong thinking that way; but Stevie Rae wasn't going to let her know how right those feelings of hers were.

_Maybe it's not a bad idea to let her know. She might understand. Maybe she'll actually help me figure it out, like she did to Zoey._

Okay, this voice in her gut totally was crossing the line and had to be shut up.

"Really, just how small is that brain of yours, bumpkin? I'm trying to be nice here! Don't ruin it!" Aphrodite said, "I mean, I saw you in the world that was falling into ruins, under the wings of Rephaim the Most Evil! Who should I choose to believe; your words or Nyx? Nyx Definitely sounds more believeable to me."

"I would never betray Zoey, you know it!" Stevie Rae said, raising her voice a litttle more, "I would never go to the dark side ever again and you know that!"

"No I don't." Aphrodite stated calmly, " And I'm not buying this crap either. Something in my gut says you're lying."

"Look, Aphrodite," Stevie Rae sighed, then changed her mind and stopped in the midde of what she was going to say. Maybe Aphrodite really _would_ understand. Stevie Rae wanted someone to understand her, at least. She was scared to tell this to Zoey because she didn't want their friendship to be broken, she didn't want to lose Zoey's trust. Kramisha was out of question too, because she hadn't completed the Change and Stevie Rae didn't want her to go nuts like Dallas did because od Rephaim too. But Aphrodite? There was nothing she could fear. Somehow, she felt like Aphrodite would understand and even if she thought it was the most brainless thing to do, she wouldn't go around blabbering about her secret. She could have looked the number one bitch from hell, but somehow she made Stevie Rae feel like she could actually trust her. Stevie Rae sighed again.

"Okay, I'll tell you everything, _everything_ that happened. I know it was silly but please try to understand, okay?" Stevie Rae started, surprised that she was actually trusting Aphrodite. She checked out the corridor to see if anyone that could hear was out there.

"So there really _is _more to it. Spill it." Aphrodite commanded quietly. Stevie Rae went into the bathroom and locked the door after her just to be safe. She didn't want anyone hearing what she was about to say.

* * *

A/N: Sorry for the too late chapter people! Really, this took me some time to complete. I have no idea why I chose Aphrodite to reveal the secret to; but it felt right to me somehow. I mean, I thought it would be Kramisha first; but I backed out in the middle of the last chapter. Zoey was out of question for the time being too. And Stevie Rae just needed some support so much, in my opinion. Handling everything by herself alone and not having anyone she can be true to, not having one friend that close... I thought it would be a big burden and she would want to escape this after a while. I still wonder if it was a good idea to have her open up to Aphrodite, so tell me if you don't like anything and I'll seriously consider it. This chapter is still open to editing. And I might have failed in the "House of Night writing style" or got a little OOC; it's because it's been long since I last read the last book again. I've been studying like mad all this time, only had a shory holiday to visit my parents. You know, exams sometimes can kill people and I was simply trying to survive. Sorry if I made any mistakes, I'm open for any comments and crtiques, in fact I'll appreciate them a lot. Review please, thank you!


	7. Chapter 7

_**Rephaim**_

Without anyone realizing, Rephaim went into the library. Raven Mockers weren't actually banned from entering but that could be because no Raven Mocker would actually come and read; it would be meaningless for they only existed to serve their Father. But Rephaim had done so before, just once. He had been really careful not to be seen just in case. So he had no idea if Raven Mockers were or weren't welcome in the library.

"Oh, come on! I'mdefinitely not accepting that one!" Rephaim heard a young boy's voice and quickly hid behind a shadow.

"Why not? It's a party we're throwing, what's so wrong about a little more fun!" a girl's voice replied the boy.

"I'm pretty sure that Zoey won't appreciate_ strippers_ in her welcome-back-party. No, putting it like this, I'm absolutely sure that she won't like that. Or is it like you're thinking of yourself only?" The boy replied back.

Zoey. Rephaim started paying more attention. These people probably were Zoey's friends – which meant they were also Stevie Rae's friends.

"Who, me? I don't even like strippers!" the girl replied.

"Yeeeeah, and I totally believe you, right..." the boy said, then they got into Rephaim's view. He held his breath and called Darkness to hide him perfectly as they passed by him. They didn't notice a thing. After they passed, he saw that there were three of them: one blond girl, one brunette and one boy that looked very young. He tried to remember their names. The boy should be Jack and...

No, no, no, he wasn't doing this. He wasn't going to get involved with the humans any more. He was simply going to find a way to save his father and that was going to be all. He had decided that he was a beast and could only live as a beast; he was going to do it right.

_Then why do I still want to see her? Why do I still miss her presence? Why do I have this heaviness in my chest that tells me to leave everything and go to her at this instant?_

He shook his head and made his way down the hall. Those were the questions that should never be answered.

"You did _what?_" he heard another voice. It was mostly mute, but it sounded so shocked. Rephaim hid behind another shadow and glanced to where the sound was coming from. It was a blond girl, talking to a phone. Her face openly showed her anger and shock. She was on his way and he didn't want to be seen. He had to wait.

"You, Stevie Rae Johnson, are more than brainless. Actually, brainless couldn't even _start_ to describe you. You, you're the first member of a whole new species. Even I don't have any words to describe what you are anymore, congratulations!"

Something in him throbbed suddenly. This was probably the girl called Aphrodite, she was talking to Stevie Rae right now and he could feel that he wanted to hear her voice. He tried to exterminate the feeling as much as he could. He was a beast. Beasts wouldn't miss anyone or anything. They would only slaughter. Still he went all ears. Maybe he would hear something useful, who knew?

_**Stevie Rae**_

"You did _what?_"

Yeah, this was the best reaction she could have hoped for. Guess she had prepared Aphrodite for this well enough.

"It's exactly as you heard, Aphrodite. I saved the Raven Mocker who turned out to be Rephaim." Stevie Rae repeated her last sentence.

"You, Stevie Rae Johnson, are more than brainless. Actually, brainless couldn't even _start_ to describe you. You, you're the first member of a whole new species. Even I don't have any words to describe what you are anymore, congratulations!" Aphrodite said, her voice so full of the I-can't-believe-you tone. Stevie Rae had just started explaining everything to her; not in detail, maybe, but who knew how she would react if she knew the whole details.

"I know, I'm sorry, okay? That was really thoughtless." Stevie Rae breathed.

"Damn straight! I have no idea how you could betray us worse." Aphrodite said harshly. It was a hard blow, but Stevie Rae knew that she had every right to talk like that.

"Look, it's not like that and that's what I've been telling you all this time! I didn't mean to betray our cause, and I'm not going to the evil side either! Don't you get it? I did it because I know what it means to be swallowed in the darkness. I remembered my old times. His eyes were just too human, I couldn't leave him like that. I thought that maybe he still had a part of humanity inside, I thought that every creature needs a second chance. Zoey had given me that second chance, I wanted to-"

"Zoey gave you that second chance because you were actually _human_ once. A silly one, but a human. It's totally different from the Raven Mockers which happen to have been _born_ monsters, in case you haven't noticed!" Aphrodite interrupted, barely refraining from shouting as it seemed from the tone of her voice.

"Exacly. He probably had no idea what it's like to be human. He didn't know nothing and asked such common things that you'd laugh. Obviously, I talked to him as I cared for him." Stevie Rae countered.

"What a good thing you did! Goddess, I don't wanna say anything anymore, there's no limit to your idiocy. Just go on and tell me haw far you went." Aphrodite breathed with resignation. _The best reactions I could ever hope for._ Somehow, her gut feeling was right about talking to Aphrodite. She was grateful to that feeling actually. She did need someone to talk to after all this hiding.

"I tended to his wounds, I fixed his wing. I fed him. He couldn't hurt me in the weak state he was; but I knew what I did wasn't good, I sent him to the tunnels to stay and he would fled later, if the red fledglings didn't find him first. But then they trapped me on the rooftop, using him as the bait. He was the one that protected me from the sunlight and-"

"He actually _protected something?_" Aphrodithe said, her voice told Stevie Rae what her words didn't: she couldn't believe her story. It was too absurd. Well, Stevie Rae knew it, she wouldn't believe herself either if she was in Aphrodite's shoes.

"He said he owed me a life and that was a really binding thing so he had to pay it. But I still got burned. When we could escape into the earth, I was really in a bad contdition, so he offered me his blood."

"And that's when you Imprinted." Aphrodite stated.

"Yeah." Stevie Rae confirmed.

"Okay, I need a short hiatus here to swallow the story up to this point. You tell me how you could get trapped with the _Raven Mocker_ as the bait in the meantime." Aphrodite said with a sigh in her words.

"Well, I... had saved him at the start and I had sent him to the tunnels. When I heard that he had been found, beaten and drained of blood by the Red Fledgelings, I just couldn't leave him alone. I guess I believed he had the good inside him so I wanted to save him."

"That's what the other reds used to trap you."

"Yeah. So I went up to the roof and before he could warn me, the red fledglings already had me out. When I came to, I was about to burn. He encouraged me, showed me the path to escape, provided me shade and gave me his blood. He did all this with a broken wing and a hurt leg. He said it was because he owed me a life and wanted to get rid of the debt." Stevie Rae explained.

"Is this where you fall for him?" Aphrodite said mockingly, as if she was commenting on a cliché movie's storyline. Stevie Rae, though, had no idea how to reply this time. She wasn't prepared for this. She stuttered, then quieted down. She really had no idea when she had started falling for him, caring for him. It could be the second he opened his eyes at the night she first saw him wounded, or when his eyes showed that he was desperate and was expecting the worst, or when he first laughed. Or it could be when he'd saved her from burning to a crisp, when she was on the brink of death. Or maybe it was after they had Imprinted; she had started to fall for him after being Imprinted. The only thing she knew for sure was the time when her feelings became certain: it was when she evoked the black cow to save him from the white one.

She realized that she had been quiet for a while now, and Aphrodite wasn't talking either. She kept her silence. Then she heard Aphrodite take a short nervous breath as if she'd forgotten to breath for a while and had just remembered to.

"Don't think so hard on it, bumpkin, it was a joke. I should've known your bumpkin-brain couldn't comprehend it. Let's get on with the story: you Imprinted and then somehow you managed to hide him, I'm up to this part. Guess I'm ready to hear the rest, though I still don't think anything will justify what you did. I'm almost sure nothing will compensate what he's done up till now either. don't get me wrong, I'm just listening to you because when I could read almost every feeling of yours when we were Imprinted, you felt much more innocent than being this close to Darkness. I must be really softened since I'm actually listening to your defense here rather than sending an army on you immediately."

"Don't worry, you won't have to bother. I'm going to explain everything." Stevie Rae breathed.

* * *

A/N: First: I'm absolutely sorry for the long hiatus. I made the mistake of reading Awakened and didn't have the will to continue anymore so instead I went on with my other story: Her Flames. Right now that one's on hiatus because I don't have the patience to type it to the computer from the hand-written version and edit it at the same time. I'm using my patience on my lessons instead. Surprise, surprise! I actually do study.

Second: since I've already read the actual book, I'm guessing that it gives me the right to steal a bit of the plans. No, not anything too important for the flow of fanfic. Remember how I was always so confused with the plans of evil? I'm going to steal a tiny bit of Neferet from the new book. I'm totally lost when it comes to her. It won't be too much spoilers though. But I'm absolutely _not_ satisfied with where Mistress Cast has taken the group, so I'm definitely not following her path, just so you know.

Third: I have exams and finals coming up, so please don't expect me to upload in a regular basis like once every three days or something. I'll be happy if I can finish one chapter a week. Seriously, med school is hard.

And right now, I want to sincerely thank Iris Musicia for reminding me that I actually had another fanfic to finish and made me believe in myself and my writing again, whether she realized or didn't what she was doing. I have to tell, I probably wouldn't remember about this one if it wasn't for her reviews. Though it surprised me since I don't get reviews a lot, it had me smiling.

Okay, that's it. Please take time to review. Thanks, y'all!

P.S: Belladonna, thanks a bunch for the correction. I remembered it wrong I guess, it's been long since I last heard her last name. I corrected it now.

P.S.S: Team-EricSookie, thanks for the correction. I guess I mixed up the colors of bulls because I wrote it with such rush and didn't have time to edit. But I wrote "cows" on purpose, just so you know. Again, thank you.


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